Boris Johnson Resigns As Foreign Secretary

Boris Johnson has tendered his resignation as the UK foreign secretary, following David Davis’ own decision to step down from his post as Brexit secretary last night.

It makes Johnson the third government minister to resign in less than 24 hours, following Davis and Steve Baker, Davis’ second-in-command at the Department for Exiting the European Union.

The resignation of Johnson, the most prominent proponent of a Leave vote in the run-up to the 2016 EU referendum, is set to throw Theresa May’s cabinet into chaos. It comes after the Prime Minister appeared to commit to a ‘soft Brexit’ on Friday, reaching a compromised agreement with a cabinet that includes both hard-line Leavers and staunch Remainers alike.

Although he was said to liken May’s soft Brexit blueprint to “polishing a turd”, Johnson was initially thought to be committed to making the plan work.

A Downing Street spokesperson has said that Johnson’s replacement as foreign secretary will be announced ‘shortly’, adding: “The prime minister thanks Boris for his work.”

Political commentators are speculating that Johnson’s resignation will precede a leadership challenge. Watch this space.